You'll definitely get the most bang for your buck with a Core 2 Quad Q6600, and you'll actually feel the difference compared to an E5300. Plus, they aren't exactly expensive. They don't run too hot or pull an excessive amount of power either. If you want something a step up from that, look for a Core 2 Duo E8400 or better; those are also around $67, and while the upgrade will be noticeable, you won't feel a massive leap until you jump to a quad-core processor.
For $2,500 USD, you could just grab a brand-new console and a massive TV. Honestly, what kind of PC can you even build for that amount? With that budget, you could also pick up a tablet or maybe a laptop for browsing and just enjoying yourself. You might even have enough left over for a decent mini hi-fi system and a comfy new recliner.
It’ll happen, just look at the price 250X, which should end up being cheaper than the hd7770 replacement—actually, it's the exact same card but $10 less. Then there are also the 750 and the 750Ti models.
I expect prices will drop by about 15% within the week; we'll see the 250X hit ~$200, the 260X fall below $267, and the 265 go under $333. We also need to push the r7 260. There is an excellent selection of cards available in the 600-$333 range.
That Cooler Master unit is top-tier; it'll keep your PC running smooth and ice-cold. The card reader fits right into the old 3.5" floppy drive bay if that's what your case supports. Also, the link in your previous post is broken, so I can't check it out.
Used 500 GB drives are easy sells at $150 or $200 if they still carry a warranty. You could get $$33$ for a 250 GB drive, and then there's those older 320 GB ones. This one looks like some outdated model that’s probably painfully slow. He should list it for $80, though even $33$ would be a win if someone bites—but I wouldn't hold my breath for 🙂 .
Motherboard: Intel Core i5 processor $50 Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.6GHz $50 RAM: 6GB DDR2 667MHz 6GB total$100 Hard Drive: 1x 160GB SATA $17 Graphics Card: Zotac NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 512mb $67 Power Supply: 450W w Corsair Case $27 Case: I am not certain of the exact model since I don't have the box or the manual handy, but it's a black Mid-tower case $100 featuring a single 120mm blue LED fan. $27
These are essentially laptop motherboards shoved into monitor housings. They suffer from the worst of both worlds: you can't upgrade them, and you can't even repurpose them later. It’s either a proper desktop PC or a laptop—nothing in between.
Not necessarily, at least not across every single cable. On power supplies, you'll always find a red wire for 5V, yellow for 12V, and black for ground. As for what kind of cables manufacturers decide to use on fan connectors or other adapters, that’s entirely up to them. However, you can always tell by seeing which specific power line they've tapped into.
With that adapter, the red and black wires run at 5V. It keeps the fans running quietly and the LEDs a bit dimmer, which is how I have all of mine set up. However, if you use the yellow and black combination for 12V, you'll get maximum airflow and standard LED brightness, but the fan noise becomes much more noticeable.
You can connect one fan to the adapter I linked. In most cases, these adapters come included when you buy a fan, so it might be worth checking inside the packaging first. If it's not there, head over to Best Buy and ask; they might carry a different version that allows you to hook up multiple fans.
You might already have adapters included with your fans, or the fans themselves may feature built-in Molex connectors. Generally, people use these kinds of adapters to chain an unlimited number of fans together, though these types are also available. If they weren't provided with your hardware, you can pick them up at this link: http://www.amazon.com/cable-splitter-fan/dp/B00XYZ123
antec sonata III 500 That would be $200, or $300 if you want the power supply included. gigabyte GA-X38-DS5 $300 e8500 box—it runs rock solid at 4GHz with decent cooling. $200 8 GB Corsair $400 Quadro FX580 512Mb I'm honestly not sure... 2TB HDD 7.200 $450-$500 DVD reader $30
It would be much wiser to invest in an extra 2-4GB of RAM rather than replacing that Chieftec power supply. The CPU is still quite capable; just overclock it if the motherboard allows. You could easily hit 3.6 GHz with a 400 FSB. And you absolutely need an SSD or a modern HDD. Those old 80GB drives are painfully slow. If you grab a newer 1TB drive, you will notice a massive improvement in overall system responsiveness.
Regarding the graphics card, that AMD Radeon R7 260x that crimsonstag84 linked would be a perfect match for the Intel Core 2 duo E8400.